Dear Saints
A few days ago after a prayer meeting, I noticed that one of the back tyres of my car was extremely low. I had one of the pastors accompany me to a petrol station to have it seen to. This is a fairly new and decent car, yet when he checked the pressure, it was 13 as opposed to the functional level of 45. He suggested that it may have been a puncture. I smiled and simply told him to fill it with air.
After this episode I was inquiring of the Lord if there was some sort of teachable moment. And as with the Lord, there was. I felt I heard the Lord say ‘Over diagnosis’. Such a meaty and vast word.
I remembered that a month before this, a warning on the dashboard had indicated the tyre was losing pressure and would lead to a flat. Over time the air naturally reduced which had lead to the situation we were in. Due to how the car is built, the other tyres sufficiently carried the weight the other was not fully capable of doing so, until it had gotten to its lowest level of 13.
I feel the point the Lord was highlighting was the misdiagnosis and over diagnosis by the pastor. The cause was not a puncture, rather simply a natural lost of pressure. If he went with his diagnosis he would have had to take off the whole tyre and all that such an issue would entail. This would have caused work, time and money, than the simple increase of air and pressure within the tyre would require.
The Lord with this example is wanting us all to be careful and discerning of over diagnosing issues that prop up. Rather God wants us to pay carful attention to initial promptings that some tend to ignore then resort to misdiagnosis and thus the loss of joy, peace, strength, vision and ultimately money and time.
It may simply be a health check, making a particular phone call or seeking forgiveness from someone. When we turn a blind eye to some promptings and impressions, others come in and tend to over diagnose the situation and would generally cost more to fix said situation. Delayed obedience can be costly.
Don’t be deaf to the still small voice of God and blind to the external promptings of the Holy Spirit, so you may recover and straiten what maybe out of kilter.
This Proverb is so apt with what the Lord wants to highlight at this time…‘He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing’ (Proverbs 29:1).
Adored
Dr Betty King